Bourgeois Indulgence

This is how things look like after you have a couple of drinks.
No, it was not quite 5 o'clock yet.
I've been trying to avoid posting images that stem from self-indulgence and shameless self-promotion but I couldn't resist passing up in this one.  A few days ago, Rose got me a Carl Zeiss 35mm Distagon T*2 ZE for my birthday (it's still a few days away).  Used with the Canon EOS 5d, the results are amazing.  The images are tack sharp and has that signature Zeiss 3d quality.  This lens is top notch.  I didn't realize how mediocre my other lenses were.

I put the lens to a dummy photographer test.  In other words, I contrived a scenario that simulated a dummy photographer... akin to someone who would shoot with a professional equipment but not know what he's doing.

For the first test shot, I downed a couple of glasses of red wine.  I was working on my Maker's Mark when I set up the Canon 5d on the tripod.  Heck, I was feeling so good I didn't even bother to pour the bourbon on the right glass... I used the same wine glass (the wine purists are probably cringing).

The image I got was so sharp I had to blur the corners in post-processing. I concluded that a decent image such as this from someone who has had a few drinks was probably due to the lens and the camera. The besotted photographer could not take credit for this. I love this kind of lens test.

The second shot is a collage of magazine clippings I have posted in my office.  This time I didn't have a drink.  The challenge here was trying to get a sharp image across all corners despite the flatness of the subject.  I find that shooting a flat subject such as printed material, e.g. newspaper, text prints, quite challenging.  One always get some vignetting at the corners.  It's more obvious if the subject is flat in my experience.  Again, the Zeiss excelled here. I'm convinced.  I'm  replacing my EF lenses with Zeiss.

Thank you, Rose. (Oh, can anyone tell me how many birthdays can one have in a year?)


Note: No one was hurt in the above experiment. Everyone was willing to do it in the name of science.

see also RB and Flickr

Comments

Rose said…
this is a cracker... enjoyed the humour... now when can i see the payoff?

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